1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to generally to apparatus for steaming garments and particularly to a fixture for supporting garments which are to be steamed by means of a hand-held steamer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the recent past, so-called "hand steamers" for home use have been made commercially available. Such hand-held steamers are typically powered by standard house current like many other hand-held electric home appliances. The hand-held steamer, typically of lightweight construction, includes an electrical heating element and a reservoir for holding a quantity of water. The water is converted to steam during the operation of the hand-held steamer. A steam outlet of the steamer is directed against wrinkled fabric portions of a garment. The steam tends to restore the natural shape of the garment.
Though hand-held steamers have proven to be valuable home appliances for removing unwanted wrinkles from most garments, the effectiveness of their use is sometimes hampered in the absence of an efficient way to hold a garment to be steamed. In many instances, the need to quickly restore a suit, coat, jacket or skirt comes up unexpectedly, when the garment is taken from the closet, and time to meet a busy schedule is running short. For example, when on a Sunday afternoon, garments are packed for an important Monday morning business trip. In these types of situations, the immediate availability of a practical work site for steaming the garments becomes invaluable.
A garment support used by some commercial cleaning and pressing establishments in conjunction with hand-held steamers provides a wall-mounted backplate. At the top and center of the backplate, a clamping and hanger linkage provides for the temporary suspension of a garment either by clamping the garment against the backplate, or as a structure for holding a hanger in suspension while a garment is steamed. The garment clamping linkage is activated by a foot switch which is coupled through a cable connection to the clamp at the top of the plate.
The described support for garments during steaming operations may be useful for commercial operations. However, the complexity of the installation with the foot switch mechanism and the fixed height at which the garment holder is mounted render such installation in a home undesirable. Since hand-held steamers are typically used only occasionally in the home, and ready availability and unobtrusive storage of equipment used with such steamers are desirable, commercial installations have failed to meet the needs of home users of hand-held steamers.
Various other devices for steaming garments are known which typically do not contemplate the use of a hand-held steamer. Instead, they provide a support for specific garments and permit steam to be introduced into the garment, and to be distributed somewhat uniformly from the inside of the garment through virtually all of its material, while the garment is supported by a frame. The frame approximates the shape of a person wearing the garment. While such fixtures or garment supports may be practical in their specific applications, the specificity of their applications or the generally increased consumption and release of steam as the result of steaming a garment in its entirety makes these appliances more suitable for larger volume use, such as in commercial cleaning and steaming applications, as opposed to occasional home use.
Other supports, such as ironing boards or table surfaces are sometimes used in conjunction with hand-held steamers. Ironing boards are used because of their availability in many households in which hand-held steamers have come into use. Ironing boards typically occupy a stow-away place in a closet and are quickly set up. Table surfaces are sometimes used because of their convenient availability in emergencies created by time pressures of current lifestyles. Horizontally disposed supports, however, have been found to be less than ideal for removing wrinkles from garments with hand-held steamers.